Division of Medical Sciences, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Neurosciences Institute, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 9SY, UK.
Biochem Soc Trans. 2009 Dec;37(Pt 6):1317-22. doi: 10.1042/BST0371317.
Glutamate and GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) are the predominant excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters in the mammalian CNS (central nervous system) respectively, and as such have undergone intense investigation. Given their predominance, it is no wonder that the reciprocal receptors for these neurotransmitters have attracted so much attention as potential targets for the promotion of health and the treatment of disease. Indeed, dysfunction of these receptors underlies a number of well-characterized neuropathological conditions such as anxiety, epilepsy and neurodegenerative diseases. Although intrinsically linked, the glutamatergic and GABAergic systems have, by and large, been investigated independently, with researchers falling into the 'excitatory' or 'inhibitory' camps. Around 70 delegates gathered at the University of St Andrews for this Biochemical Society Focused Meeting aimed at bringing excitation and inhibition together. With sessions on behaviour, receptor structure and function, receptor trafficking, activity-dependent changes in gene expression and excitation/inhibition in disease, the meeting was the ideal occasion for delegates from both backgrounds to interact. This issue of Biochemical Society Transactions contains papers written by those who gave oral presentations at the meeting. In this brief introductory review, I put into context and give a brief overview of these contributions.
谷氨酸和 GABA（γ-氨基丁酸）分别是哺乳动物中枢神经系统中的主要兴奋性和抑制性神经递质，因此受到了广泛的研究。鉴于它们的优势，这些神经递质的相互受体作为促进健康和治疗疾病的潜在靶点，引起了如此多的关注，也就不足为奇了。事实上，这些受体的功能障碍是许多特征明确的神经病理学状况的基础，如焦虑、癫痫和神经退行性疾病。尽管它们内在相关，但谷氨酸能和 GABA 能系统总体上是独立研究的，研究人员分为“兴奋”或“抑制”阵营。大约 70 名代表聚集在圣安德鲁斯大学参加了这次生化协会专题会议，旨在将兴奋和抑制结合起来。会议的内容包括行为、受体结构和功能、受体运输、活性依赖性基因表达变化以及疾病中的兴奋/抑制等，为来自这两个背景的代表提供了相互交流的理想机会。本期《生化协会汇刊》包含了在会议上作口头报告的人的论文。在这篇简短的介绍性综述中，我将这些贡献置于背景之中，并作了简要概述。
